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Greek Lessons
- The Question of Eternal Life: Syntax of Testing and Inquiry in Luke 10:25
- The Grammar of Astonishment and Difficulty
- The Urgency of Flight: Syntax, Eschatology, and the Grammar of Mission in Matthew 10:23
- Provoking the Lord: The Peril of Presumption
- The Great Priest Over God’s House: The Foundation of Confident Access
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Category
Author Archives: Advanced Greek Grammar
Children in the Marketplace: Greek Grammar and Rhetorical Analogy in Matthew 11:16
Τίνι δὲ ὁμοιώσω τὴν γενεὰν ταύτην; ὁμοία ἐστὶ παιδίοις καθημένοις ἐν ἀγοραῖς ἃ προσφωνοῦντα τοῖς ἑτέροις αὐτῶν λέγουσιν· (Matthew 11:16)
But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to their companions and say,
Introduction: Jesus’ Use of Parabolic ImageryIn Matthew 11:16, Jesus introduces a vivid analogy to describe “this generation.” The verse reads: “Τίνι δὲ ὁμοιώσω τὴν γενεὰν ταύτην; ὁμοία ἐστὶ παιδίοις καθημένοις ἐν ἀγοραῖς ἃ προσφωνοῦντα τοῖς ἑτέροις αὐτῶν λέγουσιν.” The question-and-answer form is striking: “To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, who call out to their companions.”… Learn Koine Greek
Descending with a Command: Temporal Clauses and Imperatives in Matthew 17:9
Καὶ καταβαινόντων αὐτῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄρους ἐνετείλατο αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς λέγων· μηδενὶ εἴπητε τὸ ὅραμα ἕως οὗ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστῇ. (Matthew 17:9)
This verse follows the Transfiguration narrative and captures a moment of transition—physically from the mountaintop to the valley, and theologically from revelation to restraint. Its Greek syntax blends narrative action, direct discourse, and temporal limitation, creating a tense-filled scene.
Temporal Setting: καταβαινόντων αὐτῶνThe genitive plural present participle καταβαινόντων (“as they were coming down”) with the genitive pronoun αὐτῶν forms a genitive absolute. This construction sets the background circumstance independent of the main verb: the command takes place while the descent is in progress.… Learn Koine Greek
When the Right Hand Causes to Stumble: Hyperbole, Grammar, and Discipleship in Matthew 5:30
Καὶ εἰ ἡ δεξιά σου χεὶρ σκανδαλίζει σε, ἔκκοψον αὐτὴν καὶ βάλε ἀπὸ σοῦ· συμφέρει γάρ σοι ἵνα ἀπόληται ἓν τῶν μελῶν σου καὶ μὴ ὅλον τὸ σῶμά σου βληθῇ εἰς γέενναν. (Matthew 5:30)
And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away from you. For it is better for you that one of your members perish than that your whole body be cast into Gehenna.
The Radical Language of DiscipleshipMatthew 5:30 belongs to the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus intensifies the law’s demands by addressing the heart as much as the hand.… Learn Koine Greek
The Portrait of a Worthy Widow: Grammar and Ethics in 1 Timothy 5:10
Ἐν ἔργοις καλοῖς μαρτυρουμένη, εἰ ἐτεκνοτρόφησεν, εἰ ἐξενοδόχησεν, εἰ ἁγίων πόδας ἔνιψεν, εἰ θλιβομένοις ἐπήρκεσεν, εἰ παντὶ ἔργῳ ἀγαθῷ ἐπηκολούθησε. (1 Timothy 5:10)
Well attested for good works: if she brought up children, if she showed hospitality, if she washed the feet of saints, if she helped the afflicted, if she followed every good work.
Grammar in Service of Ethical VisionIn 1 Timothy 5:10, Paul outlines the qualifications for widows who might be enrolled for church support. The verse provides a striking example of how grammar shapes ethical instruction. With a string of conditional clauses beginning with εἰ (“if”), Paul creates a checklist of virtues that identify a life well-lived: raising children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping the afflicted, and devoting oneself to every good work.… Learn Koine Greek
John Appears in the Wilderness: Grammar and Theology in Matthew 3:1
Ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις παραγίνεται Ἰωάννης ὁ βαπτιστὴς κηρύσσων ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ τῆς Ἰουδαίας (Matthew 3:1)
Now in those days, John the Baptist comes, preaching in the wilderness of Judea.
A Transitional AnnouncementMatthew 3:1 marks a decisive shift in the Gospel narrative. After recounting Jesus’ infancy and early life, Matthew turns to the public ministry of John the Baptist: “In those days John the Baptist comes, preaching in the wilderness of Judea.” The Greek syntax here is simple yet loaded with significance. The verb παραγίνεται signals the sudden appearance of a prophetic figure, while the participle κηρύσσων highlights the activity that defines him.… Learn Koine Greek
From Idols to Insight: Paul’s Greek Rejection of Anthropomorphic Worship
Γένος οὖν ὑπάρχοντες τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐκ ὀφείλομεν νομίζειν χρυσῷ ἢ ἀργύρῳ ἢ λίθῳ, χαράγματι τέχνης καὶ ἐνθυμήσεως ἀνθρώπου, τὸ θεῖον εἶναι ὅμοιον. (Acts 17:29)
Being therefore offspring of God, we ought not to think the divine is like gold or silver or stone, a carving of art and human imagination.
Word Order as Theology: Repositioning the DivineIn Acts 17:29, Paul delivers a striking rejection of idolatry through precise and deliberate Greek syntax. The fronted participial phrase γένος οὖν ὑπάρχοντες (“Being therefore offspring”) introduces the basis of Paul’s argument, placing the identity of humans in relationship to God as the foundational premise.… Learn Koine Greek
Routes of Revelation: Compound Verbs and Syntactic Contrast in Galatians 1:17
Paul’s autobiographical defense in Galatians 1 is more than a travelogue — it is a theological roadmap. In οὐδὲ ἀνῆλθον εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα πρὸς τοὺς πρὸ ἐμοῦ ἀποστόλους, ἀλλὰ ἀπῆλθον εἰς Ἀραβίαν, καὶ πάλιν ὑπέστρεψα εἰς Δαμασκόν (Galatians 1:17), Paul uses a string of directional compound verbs and adversative conjunctions to assert the independence of his apostolic calling. Every verb carries theological freight: he did not go up, but went away — not to the apostles, but to Arabia. The syntax doesn’t merely recount events; it dislocates human authority from his gospel commission.
Morphological Breakdown οὐδὲ – Root: οὐδέ Form: coordinating negative conjunction Lexical Meaning: “not even,” “nor” Contextual Notes: Strong negation, extending the previous statement — Paul neither consulted humans nor even went to Jerusalem.… Learn Koine GreekInfinitives of Destiny: Divine Necessity in Mark 8:31
Καὶ ἤρξατο διδάσκειν αὐτοὺς ὅτι δεῖ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου πολλὰ παθεῖν, καὶ ἀποδοκιμασθῆναι ἀπὸ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων καὶ τῶν ἀρχιερέων καὶ τῶν γραμματέων, καὶ ἀποκτανθῆναι καὶ μετὰ τρεῖς ἡμέρας ἀναστῆναι· (Mark 8:31)
And he began to teach them that it is necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things, and to be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and to be killed, and after three days to rise.
The Opening Verb: ἤρξατο διδάσκεινThe verbal phrase ἤρξατο διδάσκειν (“he began to teach”) is a syntactic powerhouse frequently used by Mark. The aorist middle verb ἤρξατο introduces a shift in tone and mission, marking the onset of a solemn new phase in the narrative.… Learn Koine Greek
When the Spirit Says No: The Syntax of Divine Prohibition in Acts 16:6
Διελθόντες δὲ τὴν Φρυγίαν καὶ τὴν Γαλατικὴν χώραν, κωλυθέντες ὑπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος λαλῆσαι τὸν λόγον ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ, (Acts 16:6)
And having gone through Phrygia and the Galatian region, having been prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the word in Asia.
In the journey narrative of Acts 16, Luke records a moment that disrupts our expectations of divine guidance. Paul and his companions are traveling through Asia Minor, yet something unusual occurs—not an open door, but a closed one:
διελθόντες δὲ τὴν Φρυγίαν καὶ τὴν Γαλατικὴν χώραν, κωλυθέντες ὑπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος λαλῆσαι τὸν λόγον ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ.
“And having gone through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, they were prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the word in Asia.”… Learn Koine Greek
“Word Order as Witness: The Marked Temporal Fronting of ἀνατείλαντος τοῦ ἡλίου and the Semantics of Dawn”
Καὶ λίαν πρωῒ τῆς μιᾶς σαββάτων ἔρχονται ἐπὶ τὸ μνημεῖον, ἀνατείλαντος τοῦ ἡλίου. (Mark 16:2)
And very early on the first day of the week, they come to the tomb, after the sun had risen.
A Morning That Speaks in SyntaxAt first glance, Mark 16:2 appears to be a straightforward narrative clause describing the women’s arrival at the tomb “very early on the first day of the week.” Yet beneath its simple surface lies a syntactic structure that subtly reorients temporal logic and heightens theological significance. The phrase ἀνατείλαντος τοῦ ἡλίου, an aorist active participle in the genitive absolute construction, follows the main verb ἔρχονται rather than preceding it chronologically.… Learn Koine Greek
